Accelerated Plethysmograph (APG): APG test measures the blood circulation state and aging level of blood vessels in regards to vascular elasticity and hardening, through the signal at the finger tip. APG is also called the “final analysis” wave form. APG uses the second derivative of the waveform of the digital photo-plethysmograph to stabilize the baseline and to separate components of the waveform more clearly and distinctly.

Angina Pectoris: The most common symptom of coronary artery disease also known simply as chest pain. Angina can be described as a discomfort, heaviness, pressure, aching, burning, fullness, squeezing, or painful feeling due to coronary heart disease. Often, it can be mistaken for indigestion. Angina is usually felt in the chest, but may also be felt in the shoulders, arms, neck, throat, jaw, or back.

Angina is caused when blood flow to an area of the heart is decreased. This impairs the delivery of oxygen and vital nutrients to the heart muscle cells. When this happens, the heart muscle must use alternative, less efficient forms of fuel so that it can perform its function of pumping blood to the body. The byproduct of using this less efficient fuel is a compound called lactic acid that builds up in the muscle and causes pain. Some medications used to treat angina work by inhibiting the use of this fuel source.

APG: See Accelerated Plethysmograph.

Arterial Elasticity (AE): Analyzes the blood circulation, the vascular elasticity and resistance of the vessels. It detects early cardiovascular disease like atherosclerosis and peripheral circulation dysfunction. AE analyzes the c/a value out of the basic waves. It means the elasticity of arteries and if the elasticity is bad, its value moves from (+) value to (-) value.

Artery: Blood vessels that carry blood from the heart throughout the body. They're lined by a thin layer of cells called the endothelium. The endothelium works to keep the inside of arteries toned and smooth, which keeps blood flowing.

AE: See Arterial Elasticity.

Atherosclerosis: Hardening and narrowing of the arteries. An unnoticeable process that slowly blocks arteries, and limits blood flow.

Blood Pressure: Pressure exerted by the blood upon the walls of the blood vessels and especially arteries, usually measured on the radial artery by means of a sphygmomanometer, and expressed in millimeters of mercury either as a fraction having as numerator the maximum pressure that follows systole of the left ventricle of the heart and as denominator the minimum pressure that accompanies cardiac diastole or as a whole number representing the first value only.

Brachial Artery: The chief artery of the upper arm that is a direct continuation of the Axillary artery and divides into the Radial and Ulnar arteries just below the elbow.

Carotid artery disease: The carotid arteries run up either side of your neck. They supply oxygen to your brain. The accumulation of arterial plaque in the carotid can lead to stroke.

Cholesterol: Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made in the liver and other cells and found in certain foods, such as food from animals, like dairy products, eggs, and meat. The body needs some cholesterol in order to function properly. Its cell walls, or membranes, need cholesterol in order to produce hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest fat. But the body needs only a limited amount of cholesterol to meet its needs. When too much is present health problems such as heart disease may develop.

Coronary artery disease: When plaque accumulates in the arteries carrying blood to the heart, it results in coronary artery disease, or heart disease. This condition can lead to heart attacks and is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

Cuff:Used to take brachial blood pressure. The cuff is wrapped around an individuals upper arm so that the sensors are positioned over the Brachial Artery.

Diabetes: Affects the body’s ability to use blood sugar for energy. It is the most common disorder of the endocrine (hormone) system, occurs when blood sugar levels in the body consistently stay above normal. Diabetes is a disease brought on by either the body's inability to make insulin (type 1 diabetes) or by the body not responding to the effects of insulin (type 2 diabetes). It can also appear during pregnancy. Insulin is one of the main hormones that regulates blood sugar levels and allows the body to use sugar (called glucose) for energy.

Diastolic:The diastolic blood pressure number or the bottom number indicates the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats.

A normal diastolic blood pressure number is less than 80.
A diastolic blood pressure between 80 and 89 indicates prehypertension.
A diastolic blood pressure number of 90 or higher is considered to be hypertension or high blood pressure.

Differential Pulse Wave Index (DPI): Represents the overall health of the cardiovascular system. DPI is the main indicator that represents the aging of arteries. => - b + c + d / a. It means if the (-) value is lower, the vascular aging degree is going bad.

DPI: See Differential Pulse Wave Index.

Eccentric Constriction (EC): Represents the contraction power of vessels from the left ventricle. EC analyzes the b/a value out of basic waves. If the cardiac output is higher, the vascular state is good and the result value should be bigger in (-) value.

EC: See Eccentric Constriction.

Endothelium: An epithelium of mesoblastic origin composed of a single layer of thin flattened cells that lines internal body cavities (as the serous cavities or the interior of the heart).

Femoral Artery: The chief artery of the thigh that is a continuation of the external iliac artery lying in the anterior part of the thigh and is undivided until a point about two inches (5 centimeters) below the inguinal ligament where it divides into a large deep branch and a smaller superficial branch.

Frequency Domain: The HRV is comprised of multiple frequencies. Frequency domain method analyses this waveform by looking at the different frequency components of the waveform. The two main frequency components that represent ANS activity are the low frequency (LF) components (0.04 to 0.15Hz) and the high frequency (HF) components (0.15 to 0.4 Hz). Frequency domain measures confirm that the LF and HF oscillatory components are relative indices of cardiac sympathetic and vagal activity respectively and HF and RMSSD indicate parasympathetic activity.

Heart Rate (HR): How many beats per minute for one’s heart. The mean or average beat per minute is normal in the 60-90 range.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV): HRV is the degree of fluctuation in the length of intervals between heart beats. HRV measures the overall health status and the autonomic nervous system function that is composed of sympathetic nerve system (SNS) and parasympathetic nerve system (PNS). SNS plays a role of an accelerator in our body while PNS is functioning as a brake. If one of them is broken, it will be easier to get cardiovascular diseases as ANS is not balanced. Heart rate is determined by the SA Node and ANS (Autonomic Nervous System) function. For healthy people, HRV shows complicated and irregular heart rates while unhealthy people have simple and regular heart rates. HRV has attracted much attention and has been researched in relation with various conditions and diseases in more than 7,000 copies in Pubmed. You can search the Pubmed site at: (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Pubmed).

HRV: See Heart Rate Variability.

High density lipoproteins (HDL): HDL, also called "good" cholesterol, helps the body get rid of bad cholesterol in the blood. The higher the level of HDL cholesterol, the better. If your levels of HDL are low, your risk of heart disease increases.

Hypertension: Abnormally high arterial blood pressure that is usually indicated by an adult systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or greater or a diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or greater, is chiefly of unknown cause but may be attributable to a preexisting condition (as a renal or endocrine disorder), that typically results in a thickening and inelasticity of arterial walls and hypertrophy of the left heart ventricle, and that is a risk factor for various pathological conditions or events (as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, end-stage renal disease, or retinal hemorrhage).

L-Arginine: A crystalline basic amino acid C6H14N4O2 derived from guanidine that when combined with L-Citrulline helps to boost the bodies nitric oxide levels.

L-Citrulline: A crystalline amino acid C6H13N3O3 formed especially as an intermediate in the conversion of ornithine to arginine in the living system.

Low density lipoproteins (LDL): LDL, also called "bad" cholesterol, can cause buildup of plaque on the walls of arteries. The more LDL there is in the blood, the greater the risk of heart disease.

Metabollic Syndrome: Is a group of risk factors including High Blood Pressure, High Blood Sugar, High Cholesterol Levels, and Belly Fat. These risk factors increase the risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes. Diet, Exercise and Supplementation improve it.

Nitric Oxide: L-arginine is converted by the body into the molecule nitric oxide. Once formed, it serves as a mediator of intra- and intercellular communication, regulating numerous biological processes, including vasodilation and neurotransmission. As a vasodilator, nitric oxide signals the blood vessels to relax for improved blood flow.

Peripheral artery disease: If plaque builds up in the blood vessels that carry blood to your legs, it can reduce the amount of oxygen delivered. The reduced blood flow can cause you to experience pain, numbness, or serious infection in your legs and feet.

Plaque: Plaque that accumulates on the inner walls of your arteries is made from various substances that circulate in your blood. These thick hard deposits include calcium, fat, cholesterol, cellular waste, and fibrin, a material involved in blood clotting. In response to plaque build-up, cells in your artery walls multiply and secrete additional substances that can worsen the state of clogged arteries.

Plethysmograph (PTG): The “basic” wave form signal that indicates pulsation of chest wall and great arteries followed by heart beat. It measures the changes in blood volume within an organ or whole body.

PTG: See Plethysmograph

Power Spectrum Analysis: Power spectrum analysis of the heart rate fluctuations provides a quantitative noninvasive means of assessing the functioning of the short-term cardiovascular control systems. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous activity makes frequency-specific contributions to the heart rate power spectrum.

Radial Artery: The smaller of the two branches into which the brachial artery divides just below the bend of the elbow and which passes along the radial side of the forearm to the wrist then winds backward around the outer side of the carpus and enters the palm between the first and second metacarpal bones to form the deep palmar arch.

Remaining Blood Volume (RBV): It is the remaining blood volume in the vessels after systolic contraction on the heart. If the blood vessels are healthy, there is little remaining blood volume. RBV analyzes the d/a value out of the basic waves. If the vascular state is better, the remaining blood volume will be lower and it describes (-) value. But, if the aging degree is in progress, EC will be weakened and RBV will remain high. It is an important indication of classifying the wave type.

RBV: See Remaining Blood Volume.

SA Node: See Sinoatrial Node.

Sinoatrial Node (SA Node): The SA node is the impulse-generating (pacemaker) tissue located in the right atrium of the heart, and thus the generator of normal sinus rhythm. It is a group of cells positioned on the wall of the right atrium, near the entrance of the superior vena cava. The SA node is richly innervated by parasympathetic nervous system fibers (CN X: Vagus Nerve) and by sympathetic nervous system fibers (T1- 4, Spinal Nerves). This unique anatomical arrangement confers the SA node responsive to distinctly paired and opposed autonomic influences. Stimulation of the vagus nerves (the parasympathetic fibers) causes a decrease in the SA node rate (thereby decreasing the heart rate). Parasympathetic fibers cannot change the force of contraction, however, because they only innervate the SA node and AV node (which control heart rate only). Stimulation via sympathetic fibers causes an increase in the SA node rate (thereby increasing the heart rate and force of contraction). Sympathetic fibers can increase the force of contraction because in addition to innervating the SA and AV nodes, they innervate the atria and ventricles themselves.

Stroke: Brain damage caused by a blocked blood vessel or bleeding in the brain. Strokes are caused by a blood clot that blocks blood flow to the brain. A blood clot can develop in a narrowed artery that supplies the brain or can travel from the heart (or elsewhere in the body) to an artery that supplies the brain. Blood clots are usually the result of other problems in the body that affect the normal flow of blood. One such cause is atherosclerosis.

Systolic:When your heart beats, it contracts and pushes blood through the arteries to the rest of your body. This force creates pressure on the arteries. This is called systolic blood pressure. A normal systolic blood pressure is below 120.

A systolic blood pressure of 120 to 139 means you have prehypertension, or borderline high blood pressure. Even people with prehypertension are at a higher risk of developing heart disease.
A systolic blood pressure number of 140 or higher is considered to be hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Technician: An individual that has been trained and certified by TCG to administer a cardiovascular screening using the Max Pulse.

Vasodilater: An agent (as a parasympathetic nerve fiber or a drug) that induces or initiates vasodilation.